Unemployment Done Well

Reggie worked hard and did well in his job selling cars. But when a recession hit, people stopped buying cars, and Reggie lost his job.

Luckily, he had set aside money for such an event, and was also able to collect unemployment insurance, so financially he was fine once he tightened his budget a bit. But more than anything, Reggie missed the social interactions of going to work—the joking with the other sales guys and talking to customers. He missed helping a young couple buy the right car for their family, or working with his boss to get a retired man a better trade-in deal so he could afford a new car.

Reggie realized it might be a few months before he could find another job, so he decided to volunteer with an agency that visited shut-ins in their homes. He enjoyed visiting and chatting and helping determine what services they needed to stay independent. This volunteer work not only gave him a sense of purpose each day, he had something to talk about when his friends were chatting about their work day. Of course, he also made sure to network with all his friends around finding a new job, and he didn’t hesitate to ask for support when he was feeling discouraged about the job market.

It took 6 months, but Reggie found another job selling car parts through the friend of a friend. The hours on his new job allowed him to continue volunteering one day a week, which he continued to enjoy.